Why Your Business Should Be Like A Tiny House

The extreme version of a tiny house clocks in at less than 200 square feet, ranging up to about 750, depending on who’s doing the counting.

You know the movement has built some steam when it sparked another “HouseHunters” HGTV spin-off.

What’s so enticing about a tiny house anyway? I think our appetites get whetted with what I call house porn—those beautifully shot, luscious photos currently making the rounds on the blogosphere.

You know the ones. Small, neat spaces—without a speck out of place—looking out onto vineyards, meadows, forests. Like the Oregon couple who built one on their family’s orchard. Or the traveling nurse who moves every six months or so and wants her house on wheels.

There is something romantic and yet strangely entrepreneurial about a tiny house that lets you live smaller and larger at the same time.

So here’s an idea: why not run your business like a tiny house?

Which doesn’t mean that your revenue or impact should be tiny. Just the space it takes to run it.

The Tiny House Philosophy applied to your work might look something like this.

Everything I need is right here. Like in the tiny house, you’ve got a command center and everything you need is within arm’s reach—your laptop, tablet and phone. Your whole enchilada is entirely portable—stored, organized and synched across all your devices.

I bust clutter before it busts me. Think metaphorical clutter in addition to the usual variety. Wasting space on outmoded ideas, hand-wringing or energy-sucking vampires is no less a problem than piles of paper gathering dust.

I toss everything that isn’t absolutely essential. This means old tax returns (because hey, you’ve already digitized them), expansion plans you’ll never pull the trigger on and relationships that have outlived their purpose.

Beauty—my very own definition—is indispensable. Your version of essential includes just enough beauty (insert your definition here) to inspire you and keep you going when the skies cloud over.

My real focus stays on the world outside my door. Once you’ve got your tiny house dashboard humming along, you can keep your focus on the world outside your window. What’s happening with your tribe, who you need to know and what problems you want to tackle.

I’m not alone. You always have room for kindred spirits—when they don’t fit inside your tiny house, you take them outside and show them what it’s like to play big.

What do you think?

And what would you add to this list to make tiny house thinking work for your business?